Stumbling Towards Esctasy

The one thing that gave me joy today...

Back in the '80s when humor such as Gary Larson was at its best, I purchased a notepad that had a cartoon character on it that was irreverent. I bought it and kept it at my desk at work to get me through those moments when things, well, suck (there is no other way to put that). The notepad had a cartoon drawing of a guy with a hat that was of a live animal. The caption read, "I think I'll drop out of society and wear live animals for hats." The humor was Larson-esque, but not really Larson's. It was my own little private way of 'escaping'.

These past few months has presented us with a series of what seems to be an endless unfolding of quite sucky events. To the point of feeling constantly overwhelmed. But, I know that this is not unique to us. So many in this country are facing far worse than we are. And, I know that it definitely could be worse. It's just that, well, sometimes you reach those points where you can't take it anymore, but it comes anyway.

We have found that what we keep reaching for to keep us moving forward and getting through it all is simply,

gratitude

Grateful that it isn't worse. Grateful for what we do have. Grateful for all those things in life that aren't things. We grab those moments, those things that aren't things and hold on tight to them.

Take for instance, today. Do you know what gave me joy today? Working on my shrine for the Street Children of Oaxaca. This is my third year doing this grass roots on line auction charity project. The collective hope is to lessen poverty through education. It was sheer bliss to finally get some time to work on it and I can't wait to get it done! It gave me joy in putting this creation together. I like it so much that it will be a wee bit hard to let it go, but it is not meant to be mine. All of us who participate in this project make all of our creations with a lot of love, tenderness and positive energy. I never know what the end product will look like as the shrine and the doll takes a life of its own as I go along. I will say that I am excited. Excited, too, in knowing that this project has a positive and profound impact on the street children of Oaxaca. So, that's what gave me joy today.

And, for that I am grateful.

Milestones

So far, for me, 2011 has already been full of ups and downs. Almost like being on an extreme roller coaster ride, really. But, life can be like that. And, sometimes it is like that in abundance, these ups and downs. The key is to mindfully hold on to the ups real tight to get you through the downs. Mindfully.

This week was highlighted with one of those wonderful 'ups'. On Wednesday, there was an art reception at our city hall. Our city hall is a new building that is less than five years old. Up until recently, there was NO art that graced the walls of Rio Rancho's City Hall.

An Art Commission was newly formed and appointed in late 2009 and in Jan. 2010, it met for the first time. I am one of those art commissioners. One of the first things our city manager put forth to us was to have art hanging in city hall by Jan. of 2011-in time for the celebration of being 30 years old as a city (man, is that young, or what?). A tough thing to accomplish given that we had no budget to work with and we had so much other work to get going on. But, I am proud to say that we did it. And, you can read about it here as to how it was done. What makes me the happiest about it all is that our city's youth were involved in a BIG way.
I took pictures and recorded video at the reception-most especially the speeches. Don't know when I'll get those up, but you can bet that the lives of these students have changed as a result of this event. We will never know how it will change their lives, but I know in my heart of hearts that it will be positive.

It is these moments that I know I am stumbling towards ecstasy instead of away from it.

To visit other posts in regards towards "Stumbling Towards Ecstasy"  visit Rebecca and her friends here.

Fostering Talent

Isa's Saturday Project (from a few weeks ago): 

Isa aka Isabella Jack (her middle name is a Hawaiian one and too complicated for my brain to remember how to spell it correctly). She lives in Hilo and she's my niece. She is my younger sister, Teresa's middle child and only girl. This girl was born with ambition, drive and talent. Doesn't take 'no' very easily for an answer either! She has these deep blue eyes that can enchant you or cut through you like a steel sword. Long blond hair-tall and willowy. An amazing young woman, she is indeed.

Anyway, my sister sent me this (the image above) the other week. I wanted to post it immediately, but had to wait for the permission to do so to come back to me. Teresa said that this was Isa's Saturday project. Go, Isa!

How does one foster talent? Encourage. Not stand in the way. Not judge. Allow the individual to be who they are. Not easy for all of us adults to do-especially for ourselves. I would conject that it might be easier to foster talent in someone else than it would be to do so for ourselves. Right? But we all know that creativiy does its best when untethered.

Isa's Halloween costume

That's Isa on the left-the tall one! I asked my sister who made the costume for her (thinking that my sister had). She said that Isa put it together all on her own and so did her friend.  The adults were so wowed that they forgot to take a whole slew of pictures. This is the only evidence of it.

So what does this have to do with Rebecca's meme, "Stumbling Towards Ecstasy"? It's about what we need to foster creativity. Shedding self doubt. Silencing our inner critic and turning a deaf ear to the external critics. It's about not judging and it is about letting yourself run 'wild' so to speak. Permission to play. It's about loving yourself and trusting your intuition in order for it guide you through life.

it's your thoughts and your spirit

and your creativity and your flare

and your heart and your sparkle

and your passion and your loves

and your courage that make up

the incredible mix of who you are...

why oh why

do we let others tell us

what our mix should be?!

~terri st. cloud

Trust yourself. Let go.

Stumbling Towards Esctasy

Getting By on Bright Spots 

 ("Goddess" silkscreen and mixed media approx. 16" x 20")

And so, on Monday, Jan. 3rd, we woke up to our office/studio space flooded in 6-9" of water. A pipe froze and broke. It was insulated, but the temps dipped down to 7 degrees and took its toll everywhere. This happened on the second floor of the building which resides behind our house. To date, I have no idea how much of my part of the contents is damaged. I haven't had the heart to look through my stuff to see which of my artwork is lost. It was a shock to awaken to that morning. For the next few days as we emptied out the building of its contents (no easy feat) in the freezing cold, I went from wanting to have complete meltdowns to putting one foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other.That's how you move forward when you think you can't.
But, really, there were many bright spots that got me through it. Quite a few from my son. First observation: "Mom, at least it wasn't a fire.". You bet. So glad it wasn't. Later in the week, when I had another moment of feeling overwhelmed-especially when the building was completely emptied out and some of the soaking wet drywall and insulation was removed. Assessing how much reconstruction would have to take place. Once, again, John had words that brightened my day. "Just think, mom. It's a fresh start." OK, so I didn't put in a request for a fresh start, but I'll take the blessing!
Mid-week. I went upstairs to rescue personal photos and stuff that I didn't want the contractors to pack up. My friend, Donna stopped by to drop off some little purses that she had sewn and made from Carpi juice boxes/envelopes. She showed up at a moment when I thought I was going to  have yet another meltdown. Sharing the story with a friend was  bright spot.
Another bright spot is that my husband thought to call our plumber right away (someone he trusts). He showed up immediately and got to the problem and it has been his crew (it's a family run business called Joe's Plumbing) that has saved the day for us. Cleaning everything out and moving everything. Taking down the wet drywall and insulation. All the cabinets, etc. Every day a crew of 3-4 guys. All day long. All the other restoration specialist in the metro area are still tied up taking care of all the damage done everywhere due to the below freezing temps that we have had. So, we are very lucky to have a steady crew here. They really cared about us as individuals. A really bright spot.
And, all the words of sympathy and comfort and, "I've been there too" have helped tremendously. All the prayers being sent our way.
So many bright spots.
So much gratitude.
I thank you all. The ordeal continues and reconstruction will span over the next 5 weeks, but the shock has, for the most part, worn off and replaced with resignation and acceptance.

Webs Spun In Silence

"we need to find God,

and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.

God is the friend of silence.

see how nature -

trees, flowers, grass-

grows in silence;

see the stars, the moon and the sun,

how they move in silence...

we need silence to be able to touch souls"

~Mother Teresa

This week I am hanging the art of my dear friend, Delma M. Petrullo who passed away in June 2009. I missed seeing her art anywhere at all, so I asked her husband, Robert if I could hang her work at the Inn at Rio Rancho. In getting the paintings out that were to be hung, I was amazed at this cobweb on the edge of the frame and onto the top part of the painting. 

It is as if it were a symbol of a life that has passed away and of life going on. All wrapped up in this teeny tiny web.

Setting My Heart Right

The Altar Screen at our church on Christmas Eve (The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) 

(The altar screen was built by hand a few years ago by some 

of our parish men. It is a replica of the original altar 

screen and had to be brought in in three pieces. 

The center piece clears the ceiling by only a few inches!)

"Help us to embrace you will, 

Give us the strength to follow your call,

So that your truth may live in our hearts."

(a Psalm, but I don't know which one)

And, I offer you a quote from Confucious today:

"To put the world right in order we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.

That will be my lifetime resolution: setting my heart right.

For more on "Stumbling Towards Ecstasy", go on over to our hostess, Rebecca's blog.

Hail Mary!

Hail Mary! 

She will be gracing our blogs every Sunday for those who choose to participate. You need not be a Catholic to participate! The lovely and gracious Rebecca is hosting this meme-what started as a 12 day journey will continue on as a weekly journey.

Hail Mary, hello, how are you?
I greet you with love,
And I thank you for being available.
Deeply, I breathe your roses,
The twelve fresh roses you place in my spirit
Every morning when I say hello to you.

(from Prayers to Mary)